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Creative Pathways Q&A
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Creative BC is an independent society created and supported by the provincial government to sustain and help grow British Columbia’s creative industries, which are defined as those generating original storytelling content for mass production, global distribution and consumption: motion picture, interactive and digital media, music and sound recording, and magazine and book publishing.
Recently the VPA had an opportunity to speak with Creative BC’s Kat Yee, the Creative Pathways Program Lead with the Provincial Film Commission.
Thank you so much for taking the time to chat. What is the Creative Pathways initiative?
Keri Young
VPA Director
Creative Pathways as an initiative whose purpose is to champion a motion picture workforce that is equitable, diverse and inclusive below-the-line, above-the-line, in avfx, post and film adjacent sectors as well.
Kat Yee
Creative Pathways
When did the Creative Pathways Initiative launch?
Keri Young
VPA Director
We officially launched in March of 2022, but this has been in the works for the past several years. It was born out of a labour market study released in 2019 which focused on below-the-line work needs for the motion picture industry. A lot of our findings could likely be applied to other sectors such as visual effects and animation, but our key points are: motion picture activity is increasing, we don’t have enough workforce supply to meet the demand, the industry relies heavily on networking for career entry and advancement, and the demographics of this labour force do not mirror those of the B.C. workforce overall in terms of diversity with respect to women, Indigenous people and people of colour. Creative Pathways as an initiative was thus created to address these findings, with huge support from industry stakeholders in support of workforce development. If people are interested in digging deeper into the report, they can visit the website: https://sites.google.com/view/bc-mopic-labour-study-2019/home?pli=1
Kat Yee
Creative Pathways
What programs were set up as a result?
Keri Young
VPA Director
We have our website which is an online hub created for jobseekers to discover careers in motion picture and grow the workforce, but we also have programs such as Setwork. Setwork is an equity stream for systemically underrepresented people to get paid work on set. Currently the focus is for below-the-line work in the production assistant role at the moment, though there is also interest from industry to see if this model could be ported to the post production and/or animation side. For example, through our partnerships with the DGC BC and Warner Bros. Discovery Access Canada, Creative Pathways has welcomed 18 underrepresented people to work as Production Assistants on set. We have also just finished a Setwork callout for the television series A Million Little Things and are in talks with other productions as well. Setwork is a great way for people to get paid experience on set and network to further their career. Networking is of course a huge factor – if you don’t know someone you can’t get your foot in the door, which can be a hard reality and doubly difficult for underrepresented groups.
Kat Yee
Creative Pathways
I can certainly see production assistant roles in editing, post production, sound and visual effects that could dovetail nicely within the Setwork program model. What other programs are currently being offered?
Keri Young
VPA Director
Continuing on the theme of networking, we have a program called Meet 10. Just like Setwork, this is an equity stream for underrepresented people. Meet 10 is a way for people to have a small, online group meeting with a head of department or hirer. The idea is for them to talk with this department head or hirer as they are looking for people to fill hiring needs in the immediate future. The people in the room can ask specific questions about what it’s like to work in that department or role, and have direct access to the industry in ways they couldn’t before or that were hidden to them. We have brought people in to meet hirers in several departments such as props, lighting, producing, assistant directors, camera, and plan to have more as well including editing!
Kat Yee
Creative Pathways
Meet 10 would be an incredible program for our members and students. One of the repercussions of Covid and remote work is that we lost a lot of PA positions, which was a meaningful training opportunity for people looking for careers in post. We are looking for incentives to get people educated and excited about the growing post industry here in BC. What else you got?
Keri Young
VPA Director
We have program called Greet 10x which is an open stream: Think of Greet 10x as huge info session available to all British Columbians. We’ve done a few of these on a broad range of topics, such a “Welcome to Animation and VFX” Greet 10x session at Creative Pathways’ launch. We also had a Greet 10x partnership with Lark Productions all about post production in the factual world. You can find these recorded sessions and more on the Creative Pathways website in the Opportunities section.
Kat Yee
Creative Pathways
This is great Kat, really encouraging. Thanks for covering these programs. Are there other areas of the Creative Pathways website we should be aware of?
Keri Young
VPA Director
Yes, I recommend of course checking out the entire Creative Pathways website in general (www.creativepathwayscanada.com), but one of the areas I like to talk about is Opportunities. Opportunities is an area where job seekers can see postings for jobs, events, skills and training, and information and knowledge related to motion picture. They can also filter by tags and department! We have a submission form where employers can submit postings for paid jobs or internships: (https://creativepathwayscanada.com/submit-opportunity/).
We also have a newsletter for those who’d like to keep abreast of Creative Pathways: https://formstack.io/5D803
I’d also encourage people to check out the Careers section for a general overview of the film and television industry. We want to make it easy for job seekers to get a comprehensive understanding of the industry and what the post production journey is like from what careers are available in this sector to the community they should be aware of (such as the VPA!). We also have a general overview of the journey from first steps to advancing professionally in avfx which can be a great resource to direct any curious students, friends, family members or the general public who want to pursue a career in this field (https://creativepathwayscanada.com/careers/animation-vfx-post-production/).
Last but not least, check out the Creative Equity Roadmap, a JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Decolonization, Diversity, Inclusion) resource. It’s an incredible wealth of information for individuals, the industry and organizations keen on furthering their journey towards a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workforce: https://www.creativebc.com/creative-equity-roadmap/
We also have a newsletter for those who’d like to keep abreast of Creative Pathways: https://formstack.io/5D803
I’d also encourage people to check out the Careers section for a general overview of the film and television industry. We want to make it easy for job seekers to get a comprehensive understanding of the industry and what the post production journey is like from what careers are available in this sector to the community they should be aware of (such as the VPA!). We also have a general overview of the journey from first steps to advancing professionally in avfx which can be a great resource to direct any curious students, friends, family members or the general public who want to pursue a career in this field (https://creativepathwayscanada.com/careers/animation-vfx-post-production/).
Last but not least, check out the Creative Equity Roadmap, a JEDDI (Justice, Equity, Decolonization, Diversity, Inclusion) resource. It’s an incredible wealth of information for individuals, the industry and organizations keen on furthering their journey towards a more equitable, diverse and inclusive workforce: https://www.creativebc.com/creative-equity-roadmap/
Kat Yee
Creative Pathways
We look forward to meeting with you soon to discuss ways in which post production can become more involved in these great programs. Thanks Kat!
Keri Young
VPA Director
